'If it ain't broke: You share your oldest working gadgets'

[Nearly Sane]

I find stuff like this fascinating - I don't have much that is old but I do have a portable record player that was bought in 1968 that works


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52965974

[ProfessorDavey]

I find stuff like this fascinating - I don't have much that is old but I do have a portable record player that was bought in 1968 that works


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52965974

I am a bit of a fan of vintage 'tech' as people might call it now - not because of some kind of dewy eyed nostalgia, but basically because it is better than anything you could buy now except for really silly money.

So I'm a big music fan so quality Hi-Fi has always been a must - my amps are valve and although the amps themselves were built in the early 90s most of the valves are from the 1940s and 1950s - the golden age of valve manufacturing with the best sounding and most robust design (not least because many were designed for WW2 military applications).

I also have a valve tuner (for listening to the radio) - from the early 60s (although with some more recent servicing and modifications) - it sounds amazing. it is incredible how good radio 3 or radio 4 can sound, even though the content might be a bit shit at times

[Roses]

My husband has some speakers he has had for donkey's years, which will still connect up to his modern tuners. I wish he would get rid of them as they are large and look well past their sell by date. I have promised to attach them to his coffin when he goes to the crem!

[Steve H]

I've got a long-case clock, made by John Pitt of Tetbury between 1830 and 1856, those being the years between which he was active as a clockmaker, which is still ticking away and keeping reasonably good time. Mind you, it has probably been repaired and restored a good few times since then. No, I didn't buy it new.

[Roses]

One of my sisters is now the owner of a longcase clock, which had been in our family home in Guernsey for a several generations according to my Father. As the eldest child I was offered it, but I never liked it as a kid. I expect it is worth a bob or two now.

[Steve H]

Very likely, if it is in reasonable condition. Even very ordinary ones tend to start at about £1,000 in antique shops, although you can get bargains in auctions. Mine. (I realise that NS, and the link, were really thinking about electrical and electronic things.)

[ekim]

Zo, Constable Dogberry, you sink you can tick.  Ve hef vays to make you tok.

[Steve H]

Zo, Constable Dogberry, you sink you can tick.  Ve hef vays to make you tok.

[Steve H]

As far as electrical and electronic goods are concerned, I've got two identical Ever-Ready bike lights from the 80s, which I bought 20-odd years ago at a cycle-jumble. Both work perfectly, the one in the photo being on my 'Elephant bike', the commuting and shopping bike, the other being spare. They need an old-fashioned light-bracket to mount on a bike, but fortunately, Nelly has got one. (I think you can get retro-fittable mounts for modern bikes.)
Edit - the spare one was until recently on my Copenhagen Pedersen, mounted on the head tube with an old bracket taken from an ancient roadster, but it recently came loose and wouldn't tighten again. However, I've just found and ordered this, at good old St John St Cycles, who always come up trumps, which bolts to the front fork boss, which fortunately the bike has got (they're for attaching front carriers to), so it (the lamp) will soon be back on the bike.

[Steve H]

Bump. See edit on my previous post.